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Lil Wyte

When the quick-rapping, crunk to the core Lil Wyte first came to the attention of the Three 6 Mafia it was with an all-white group of which Wyte was a member. The group fell apart but the Memphis-based Wyte was too skilled to be stopped. Three 6 Mafia members Juicy J and DJ Paul signed the under-21 rapper immediately after the group's disbanding and soon were working on his debut. Doubt Me Now appeared in 2003 and became a word-of-mouth hit among crunk and Southern rap's hardcore fans. Wyte's "Smoking Song" started to appear on numerous street-level mixtapes and Internet message boards were filled with Wyte talk. The Warner Bros. label took notice and approached the rapper about becoming a flagship artist for the relaunch of Warner's Asylum imprint. He signed, and brought Juicy J and DJ Paul along with him. The trio's work made Wyte's 2004 release, Phinally Phamous, one of the most "real" and "street" releases to appear on a major label under the crunk banner. ~ David Jeffries